We’re delighted to announce that we now accept the Bitcoin payment method, in addition to payment in USD, EUR and STG. Bitcoin is a decentralized P2P currency that enables instant payments.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a peer to peer decentralized currency that enables instant payments to anyone located anywhere in the world. It has no central authority, so managing transactions and issuing money are carried out collectively by the P2P network. For more information on Bitcoin, visit www.bitcoin.org.

How do I set up a Bitcoin account with Media Lightbox?

Simply set up an individual, team, business account or enterprise account via our Signup Page.

]]>http://www.medialightbox.com/blog/2014/01/media-lightbox-accepts-bitcoin/feed/1Which is the best web browser, Google Chrome or Internet Explorer, Which is the best internet browser, Fastest web browser, Which web browser is the best, Internet Explorer vs Google Chromehttp://www.medialightbox.com/blog/2012/05/which-is-the-best-web-browser/
http://www.medialightbox.com/blog/2012/05/which-is-the-best-web-browser/#commentsThu, 24 May 2012 14:37:43 +0000http://www.medialightbox.com/blog/?p=4225

Google Chrome has finally surpassed Internet Explorer as the Web’s most used browser. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has enjoyed years of domination as the No:1 web browser, but according to StatCounter the breakthrough happened last week (17th May 2012) with Chrome now taking the top spot. This shift in favour of Google’s browser has been expected considering Google Chrome overtook Internet Explorer on 18th March 2012 for just for that day.

Google Chrome has beaten off competition from Safari, Firefox, Opera and obviously Internet Explorer to gain the number 1 spot as the most used web browser in the world. Google also enjoyed success on their mobile platform as the Android mobile platform became the most popular browser for March. So what are the keys to Google’s success?

Internet Explorer (IE) has enjoyed so much success largely due to the fact that many Microsoft based computers are delivered with IE pre-installed, particularly in the public sector and within large companies. There was also a lack of competition in the early internet days which helped IE consolidate its’ position.

So for those of us that actually decide which browser to use what are the main factors for consideration?

To declare my hand.. I’m a Firefox fan. Firefox is produced by Mozilla and the main reason I prefer it is because of the excellent browser plugins it offers. As a marketer, the ability to view information on a websites page rank, back links, pages indexed, social media importance is invaluable. Likewise our technical staff regularly use Firefox plugins such as ‘Firebug’ to review code.

Advantages of Google Chrome

Which is the best web browser

Since its launch in 2008, Google have come to understand what their customers want and constantly update Chrome’s features to provide the services to match. They have created a wealth of extensions for their browser including Offline Google Mail, a Google scheduler and extensions for the main social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. These offerings have encouraged users to make the switch to Google Chrome.

Hailed by many as the fastest web browser, the speed at which Google Chrome can load and display pages as well as download data from the Internet makes it a popular choice. People lead busy lives and whether they are using the Internet for work or play, they want their browser to be quick. Google use WebKit for rendering web pages. Webkit is also used by Safari and is known to be very fast.At MediaLightbox we understand the ‘need for speed’ as clients demand a quick service. That’s why we’ve invested so heavily in product development to ensure our digital asset management system is equally powerful for customers requiring online file storage or those that require an easy to use online file sharing system.

Google Chrome offers an incognito mode for web browsing. Also offered by Safari, this allows you to browse without appearing in your history, it won’t leave any cookies and the only thing that will show are the files you have downloaded. This focus on privacy is seen to be a very important factor for many users.

Google has recognised that the majority of customers world-wide don’t like change and will fight it. So Google have made the transition process from other browsers like Internet Explorer and Firefox a smooth one. A lot of the keyboard shortcuts, bookmarks and other features are the same and it does not look unfamiliar. You can even port your browser history and saved passwords when switching browsers so the transition has become seamless.

Google Chrome incorporates an intelligent start page which displays your most used web pages. Internet Explorer 9 also uses a similar feature but finally both companies have got it right; the most used pages are actually the pages that you use the most and will want to use.

Google is a massive global company and their product offering is no different. Most of the extensions for Google Chrome are produced in numerous major languages increasing its global appeal. This recognition of globalisation is proving very successful as Google Chrome moves ahead of its biggest rivals.

Here at MediaLightbox we like to be fair so we cannot praise Google all day and so we now turn our attentions and praise to Chrome’s most bitter rival, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer is seen to be going out of fashion but it was the market leader for so many years and they are employing strategies to maintain this position.

Advantages of Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer or Google Chrome

Microsoft places a heavy emphasis on the privacy and security of their users. Initiated in Internet Explorer 7, their Phising filter is extremely useful. This let users know when they have entered a false website created by scammers and stops them giving out personal and sensitive information such as credit card details. This focus on security has meant that many users are still staying loyal to Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer 9 supports HTML5. This means that you can play videos and games online without another plugin or software such as Adobe Flashplayer. This is a major USP for Microsoft and has been heavily publicised by the company.

Recognising that Google Chrome is a very fast web browser and this a main factor in explaining its usage, Microsoft have increased the speed of Internet Explorer 9, aiming to become the fastest web browser to compete for market leadership.

Internet Explorer 9 has adopted a clean and modern interface only displaying the forward and back buttons, the url bar and tabs that the user has open. Microsoft have recognised that they are losing users and so this modern look and cutting-edge marketing campaign has been employed to show users that Microsoft offers the same features as their rivals but have stayed true to what made Internet Explorer so popular.

Google will now seek to consolidate their position as the most popular web browser to top the usage stats for May and then into the future. However they will face fierce rivalry from Microsoft, as trends show that weekend usage figures show Internet Explorer to be in the lead.

All browsers come with their advantages and disadvantages and the choice comes down to personal opinion and which best meets your needs. What is for certain is the fact that the intense rivalry between Google and Microsoft will be very advantageous for us as consumers because their offerings are constantly being improved and as a result, our user experience. The fact that we can now switch browsers and port our saved bookmarks, passwords, browsing history and favourites when transitioning between browsers makes the change much easier. Hence, Google will have to stay on their toes to ensure they keep Chrome at the No: 1 spot, otherwise they may be overtaken!

Nokia 808 Pure View or the iPhone 4S; which is the better phone for photography? We know both have awesome cameras. This blog is dedicated to finding out more about each camera and conclude the findings. Read more for all you need to know..

Recently Nokia have unveiled an amazing prospect, announcing a 41-megapixel-camera phone. Nokia have taken a colossal step forward in mobile technology. They have set their own bar on this one. Nokia have even backed up this great feat with more amazing technology within the phone itself.

The iPhone 4S has up until now been the top trump card when it comes to a camera phone. It features a high definition 1080p 8 Megapixel camera which is quite an achievement. Let’s see if it’s pole position on the market will be affected with the release of the new Nokia.

*Image from http://www.t3.com/news/41mp-nokia-808-pureview-uk-release-date-and-price-revealed

Nokia 808 Pure View

This phone’s 41-megapixel camera is a breakthrough in smartphone photography, however anyone who is a budding photographer will know that it’s not all about the number of megapixels. It seems after reading about this amazing camera that Nokia are not aiming to shoot the biggest images. Rather, their aim is on keeping as much detail as possible in the different shots the phone will take. Once a shot is taken you can zoom in up to three times with no loss of detail. This makes each photograph appear as one huge image, providing much more scope for any desired editing.

The Nokia 808 Pure View shoots full 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second. The video includes the same zoom feature as with taking a normal photograph allowing zooming whilst keeping the same quality. It is also possible for the video camera to be paired with Nokia’s Dolby headphone technology that changes sound into surround sound. This means it is great for making short films and the possibilities are endless for a film-maker. Nokia also promises ‘CD quality’ sound recording which adds for professional sounding video.

*Image from http://techpp.com/2012/02/27/nokia-808-pureview-41-megapixel-camera-but-runs-on-symbian/

Of course it goes without saying that a 41-megapixel camera needs a lot of storage space to store all those high quality photos. Nokia thankfully seem to have been working hard with their Pure View technology that ensures the photo files sizes are kept to a minimum size. The Nokia 808 Pure View comes standard with a 16GB memory card and can be expanded to 48GB.

*Image from http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/apple-iphone-4/

Apple iPhone 4S

Since the release of the iPhone 4S, Apple has been promoting it’s new and improved camera as a primary feature. The next few paragrahs below will give a bit more scope into whether the Nokia’s 808 Smart View is a contender to the current market leader.

The iPhone 4S has an 8 Megapixel camera. Apple may be implying that there are so many other cameras phones on the market that have high megapixel counts (Nokia 808?) when in reality not that many are needed for great picture quality. However the important thing to note with lots of megapixels means that all those pixels have to be packed into such a small place resulting in image quality problems. Apple claim that they have got it just right with their camera. As with the Nokia 808 Smart View the iPhone 4S can shoot 1080p HD video. This again is a great feature and they have also implemented their very own ‘video stabilization’ which is great.

*Image from http://www.tested.com/news/heres-what-makes-the-iphone-4s-new-camera-so-much-better/2963/

Apple say their new camera in the 4S allows 73% more light to enter the lens which is due to what they call ‘next-generation backside illumination’. With this camera more light means better performance, better quality pictures with much more clarity. What this new backside illumination feature does is flip the sensor over so light strikes the parts of the camera that are sensitive to light. This means the light impacts the receptive parts immediately without having to first go through a lot of circuitry.

Apple have also aimed to make the camera loading time as quick as possible. They say that in fact the 4S camera is 1/3 quicker than the camera from the previous iPhone 4. The lens of the 4S is f/2.4, which is half a stop better than the iPhone 4. This allows much more light to hit the sensor, which again adds to the overall 73% more light. The iPhone 4S is light and therefore the camera could tend to be very shaky and wiggle around when taking pictures and video. The new processing chip (A5) helps with the image analysis for this making it much quicker and able to process higher quality images. Apple seems to have designed the image processor around the hardware and vice versa. This congruence of technology works well which results in producing better battery efficiency.

Which to go for?

The release of the new 41 MPL Nokia 808 is a shrewd marketing ploy by Nokia to appeal to the vast numbers of people that rank image quality at the top of their phone purchase decision. Hats off to Nokia’s marketing team for making this move as it’s already got the tech circles and general press/media talking about the product release.

The truth however, is that once you reach an image size of 3MB anything larger does not make a significant difference in quality when printing standard size photographs. So having a 41MP camera is great but will not make much difference if your intention is not to print anything larger than a 7×5 print. Therefore the iPhone 4Swill take equally good quality pics as the Nokia 808 for the majority of users.

But, where the new Nokia 808 really excels is in its’ digital image quality for power users with a need for deep zoom capability. The Pureview technology represents a major step forward for mobile technology and allows users to zoom into an image with no loss of quality to an amazing level of detail. This announcement will be music to ears of anyone with an interest in digital image or movie editing. Of course many factors come into the decision making process when buying a phone, from operating system, aesthetics, display area, apps available etc.. But as someone with a passion for quality digital photography the Nokia 808 gets the thumbs up from me!

InterTradeIreland have launched a new website specifically designed to help graduates from across the island secure high caliber jobs, www.footinthedoor.info.
Sixty positions will be on offer throughout 2012,with a further 30 export sales jobs coming online mid-year. The jobs are located across the island and are open to recent and past graduates, North and South.

Footinthedoor.info

The new web portal www.footinthedoor.info will provide a one stop shop for graduates to access the latest job details, look at videos from past graduates on their experience and interact with other graduates to share knowledge and information. The social hub within the website will also give current graduates and alumni the opportunity to further engage with one another, raise discussions and share best practice through a dedicated Facebook page.

My Background

Having graduated in 2011 with a degree in Interactive Multimedia Design, I applied for a post online with Media Lightbox, a cloud-based digital asset management system that enables businesses to store, share and manage their files online. The position was for the role of Web Interface Design Coordinator as part of the FUSION programme.
I discovered InterTradeIreland’s FUSION programme online, when searching for employment. I was amazed at the number of SMEs throughout the island working with InterTradeIreland to find high quality graduates. The posts advertised were for a range of jobs in various sectors including IT, Science, Engineering, Energy and Pharmaceuticals.

On researching the position at Media Lightbox further, I realized the huge benefits that the FUSION programme had to offer over working for a larger organization.

I was hired by Media Lightbox in the Summer of 2011 and have been working to co-ordinate the development of the Media Lightbox user interface and improve quality control.

Benefits of FUSION

All FUSION positions are with small to medium sized companies across Ireland. They offer access to research and development facilities in a leading college or university, a Diploma in Business Management at Smurfit Business School and the opportunity to gain excellent industrial experience through a structured and planned programme of work.

Training is funded by the FUSION programme and I have been working with an IT specialist from Dundalk Institute of Technology. The Business Management course at Smurfit Business School improved my knowledge of business strategy, finance, marketing, entrepreneurship and human resources management.

This Postgraduate Diploma has enabled me to see the bigger picture in the business rather than the purely creative aspects of my role.

Here at Media Lightbox we are constantly improving and adding new features to increase the efficiency of our service. Our aim is to provide users with the best service possible. Read more for new features

The new update featured in today’s blog shows a new way to edit multiple contact at once. Before this update the user would have to individually edit contacts. Now simply go to contacts, click and hold ‘ctrl’ (windows) or ‘cmd’ (mac) and simply select the desired contacts for edit. Then click ‘edit selected’ at the bottom right of the screen.

Using this feature enables the user to edit multiple contacts; whether or not they can see the other contacts and groups in the account and if they can file share. This simple feature easily boosts the efficiency in editing multiple contacts to the users liking.

If you want a fast, easy & secure way to store your files, check out MediaLightBox.com’s file storage where you can use features such as our large file transfer to collaborate on or share your files – get a FREE account today!

What is Sharepoint? How much does it cost? Is it worth it? What are the alternatives? These are common questions asked by business owners, sceptically approaching the Microsoft platform.

Sharepoint has its strengths, but plenty of weaknesses that businesses should be aware of when considering a file management and collaboration system.

In this post, we will outline the core functionality of Sharepoint and explain how a digital asset management system such as Media Lightbox can overcome the frustrations of a Sharepoint system.

What is Sharepoint?

Microsoft Sharepoint 2010 was designed to help people work together and collaborate on projects. Sharepoint is a web application platform, consisting of several programs and web technologies that work together to make it easier for staff within large organizations to share ideas and expertise. Sharepoint enables business owners to manage intranet, extranet and internet sites on one single platform.

Sharepoint 2010 is an Enterprise solution for companies requiring a customizable and secure infrastructure. It was first released in 2001 and has grown to become a complicated and costly document management solution, in comparison to cloud-based digital asset management system, such as Media Lightbox.

Before looking at the disadvantages of Sharepoint, it’s important to understand Sharepoint’s six core capabilities:

These six pillars describe the fundamentals of Windows Sharepoint services. In reality, the number of features is simply overwhelming and business owners are charged for a wealth of additional options that their staff is unlikely to use.

Employees require Sharepoint training and companies often hire a team of support staff to deal with the number of requests.

Highly trained implementors, administrators & technical support staff are required to deploy & run it (Sharepoint), which all add to the total cost of ownershipDion HinchcliffeZDNet, 2009

Sharepoint vs

Sharepoint was initially designed to be a simple, affordable service for businesses, but has since been packed with unnecessary and complex features, which require weeks of training and a large budget.

Before studying the many advantages of digital asset management over Sharepoint (for online backup, to send big files or for project management), we must first look at the disadvantages of a Sharepoint System.

Installing Sharepoint

Sharepoint must be installed on an in-house Sharepoint server. This must be purchased and a network established, to give employees the ability to collaborate on documents and websites. The server should be powered 24 hours a day. As well as these expensive hardware maintenance costs, a Sharepoint License must be purchased as well as Client Access Licenses (CAL) for each user.

Costs can range from $5000 to over $50,000. You can find a Sharepoint cost calculator here.

The following table from sharepointforum.com will also give you an idea of the price of Sharepoint:

The costs illustrated above don’t include the price of Sharepoint setup and training. Sharepoint configuration can take weeks of tweaking to solve permission issues and Sharepoint customization.

How to Use Sharepoint

Sharepoint is a costly and excessively complex system to install and maintain. It has relatively weak support for the most common Enterprise 2.0 application types, particularly blogs and wikis, but also social network features. While the desktop versions of Sharepoint Designer and Invisio feel cluttered and outdated, the system hasn’t adapted particularly well to the rise of mobile browsing, with the number of users accessing the internet wirelessly set to surpass wired Ethernet access by 2015.

Performance Sharepoint

Sharepoint was designed to work with Microsoft Office, Windows and Internet Explorer. If Sharepoint is upgraded, the entire stack must also be upgraded.

Sharepoint is a pure Microsoft server stack that closes off any opportunities to substitute third-party databases, Web servers, and other products for Microsoft components.Forrester
2008

Limited use of applications can work well internally, but should a company setup a Sharepoint portal, open to travelling team, clients and partners, using various devices, operating systems and browsers, Sharepoint performance and access cannot be guaranteed.

Microsoft are dedicated to making Sharepoint a secure service with Microsoft Global Foundation Services (GFS) working to make Sharepoint sites protected from hackers and viruses.

While this shows Microsofts dedication in this area, it does slow the system down significantly. These security measures can affect Sharepoint access speed, delaying program startup and producing Firewall popups and error messages.

Sharepoint Update

Microsoft releases a new version of Sharepoint every 3 years. It’s easy to understand why businesses get frustrated waiting for Sharepoint updates, when they are paying for an expensive ongoing license.

Microsoft is purposely leaving the development cycle to three years before they evaluate any new hardware on the market and whether they should invest in specific applications for these devices. Users are therefore unlikely to be able to access Sharepoint from new smartphones, tablets and any other hardware released within the 3 year cycle.

Sharepoint Alternative

Businesses do not need to spend thousands on collaboration and file management software to work more productively. Furthermore, the majority of alternatives do not require an in-house server or any additional hardware. These are cloud-based solutions that work on a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. They are inexpensive, and data is backed up off-site, so should there be a fire/flood/emergency in the office, data will be safe and recoverable. Below are the advantages of online digital asset management over Sharepoint.

• Data backed up offsite
• No training required
• No additional hardware required
• Works across most devices
• Not as costly
• Viewers are typically free
• Storage space is easily customizable
• Updates are frequently released

Benefits of a System Like Media Lightbox

Media Lightbox is a digital asset management system that focuses on the features users require most when managing their files online. The system is easy to use and gives users the power to backup files, send big files, request artwork approval, watermark images and manage folder permissions. Users can access their files from any computer, smartphone or tablet.

Files can be marked as restricted with usage notes attached and shared securely online. Companies can customize Media Lightbox with their own logo and welcome images. Locating files is simple with the powerful metadata keyword search tool.

Apple has announced the next step for OS X only seven months after the release of Lion. This is due to the fact that iOS has developed so quickly. Apple now has decided to adjust OS X to keep up. Read More for Mountain Lion OS X

Mountain Lion OS X – New Features

Messages

This is a new app that is built into the OS. It more or less replaces iChat with a few small changes. The focus now, is on a more general feel for all of your messages. People who use iMessage often are going to love this. Apple say that there are over 100 Million registered iMessage users and over 26 Billion iMessages have been sent since the launch of iOS 5 in October.

Messages seems to have taken the best bits of iMessage, including delivery and read receipts. You can drag and drop both photos and videos from OS X to send them to iMessage users on iOS. FaceTime is another great feature that can be used now from inside the app. Group messaging is another new feature.

Reminders

Anyone with an iOS 5 device should know by now what the reminders app is and does. Basically it’s apples version of a to-do list. Previously such a feature appeared in the calendar in OS X, however this is not the case anymore as it takes the form of it’s very own app. Also thanks to iCloud every reminder set will be synced between all your devices (iOS and OS X Mountain Lion) so you can totally keep in touch with all your reminders.

Notes

This is the same idea as reminders, Apple has seemingly taken an iOS app and built a self standing version for OS X. The new version includes a few nice touches. You can now drag and drop photos and it’s also now possible to pin a note to the desktop (sticky notes). Likewise with reminders this is all synced with iCloud bringing all your notes to all your devices (iOS and OS X mountain Lion).

Notification Center

One of the star features of iOS has been push notifications, and as you may have guessed they are making an appearance in OS X with Mountain Lion. This will appear on the right of any screen you’re on, hidden until triggered (you can configure how you wish to trigger). Triggering will shift the desktop to the left and show all notifications in a way very similar to iOS.

Two types of push notifications feature in Mountain Lion, alerts and banners. Alerts pop up and provide the option of ‘Close’ or ‘Show’. Banners show up for five seconds in the upper right of the screen then fade away, however you can decide the configurations for each. Currently only Apple apps have this feature, however in future many speculate any app from the app store will have access to it.

Share

In iOS, it’s easy to share something from just about any core Apple app (Safari etc.). Sharing will now feature in Mountain Lion (right facing arrow button as seen in iOS).

For example, if you use safari you will now be able to send things like the web address with just two clicks. This is also the case for photos, videos and documents. Unlike the notification centre, the share feature isn’t limited to just Apple apps. Vimeo and Flickr have come on board, thus bringing many more possibilities to play with.

Twitter

Just like iOS 5 Twitter integration is coming to OS X Mountain Loin, meaning you can tweet just about anything from just about anywhere all in two clicks. The interface will look familiar if you have used the iOS 5 integration, now you’ll be able to attach photos, web links and even Mac App Store links.

You will be able to sign-in to your Twitter account from the settings area in Mountain Lion. Twitter seems to be designed to work in the background for when you want to share something, this means there is no way to view your twitter stream etc. But Tweet notifications for @replies will eventually come to the Notification Center in Mountain Lion.

Game Center

This is another feature that will take the jump from iOS to OS X. Apple say their gaming network has over 100 Million users combined with 20,000 Game Center enabled games for iOS. Though as impressive as Mac to Mac gaming will be, the most amazing feature that comes with Mountain Lion will be the enabling gameplay between Mac to iPhone, Mac to iPad and Mac to iPod. This will revolutionise gaming for Apple.

AirPlay Mirroring

This is probably the most exciting feature coming to Mountain Lion because it is simply incredible. You cannot only push things wirelessly like movies to the Apple TV from your iPad or iPhone. Now with Mountain Lion, you can push your entire OS X experience as well. You can simply access this feature by looking in the menu area of your Mac and clicking the new airplay option in order to push your entire desktop to an Apple TV. This will ultimately turn your TV into a massive monitor.

If you want a fast, easy & secure way to store your files, check out MediaLightBox.com’s file storage where you can use features such as our large file transfer to collaborate on or share your files – get a FREE account today!

I recently read the book ‘Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man’ by Marshall McLuhan. This great book brought the message of ‘it’s not about the media’s content, but rather how the characteristics of the media itself are conveyed’. McLuhan’s insight was that a medium affects the society in which it plays a role in not by the content delivered over the medium, but by its characteristics of the medium itself. The medium in itself should be the focus of study not the content that is carried on it.

A prime example McLuhan used what a light bulb, ‘a Light bulb does not have content in the way that a newspaper has articles or a television has programs, it is a medium that has a social effect i.e. a light bulb enables people to create spaces during night time that would otherwise be enveloped by darkness’. He describes a light bulb as a medium without any content. His most controversial point on the subject of mediums was his belief of content having little effect on society, in other words, it did not matter if television broadcasts children’s shows or violent programming the effect of televisions on society would be identical.

The book is in fact the source of the well-known phrase ‘The medium is the message’. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend to any media enthusiast.
You can find the book on Amazon and similar sites; also I found an interesting part of the book discussed on YouTube, shown below.

If you want a fast, easy & secure way to store your files, check out MediaLightBox.com’s file storage where you can use features such as our large file transfer to collaborate on or share your files – get a FREE account today!
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